As part of a £3bn investment programme, Project Lightning, Virgin Media announced today it will extend its ultrafast network to up to 50,000 properties in 2017.

Businesses and homes in Northern Ireland will be the next to benefit from the scheme, elevating current download speeds of 23.8Mbps to twelve times faster than its current state.

Work has already begun in communities including Ballykelly, Bangor, Limavady, Newtownards, Strabane and Artigarvan with customers benefitting from ultrafast speeds.

Tony Hanway, CEO, Virgin Media Ireland:
“Families and businesses – from Bangor to Ballykelly- will soon benefit from ultrafast broadband 12 times faster than the average speed available today.

“Virgin Media stands ready to invest in Northern Ireland, without subsidy from Stormont, London or Brussels. But, like any major infrastructure investment, we need support from local authorities and Government to cut through red-tape so we can connect more homes and businesses more quickly.”

For further information on the rollout of the scheme, including download speeds for residential and domestic customers, in addition to Virgin Media packages, please visit the official website below.